In this time of many words, there is not much we can say that has not already been said. Instead, I begin by offering this prayer from Emilia González Avalos, a tireless justice-seeker and Executive Director of UNIDOS MN in Minnesota (shared with permission):
I wake with truths still inside me.
Though the night was heavy and the world is uncertain,
I rise not in fear, but in remembering.
Let me not forget:
Silence can be complicity.
Neutrality can be surrender.
Comfort can be cowardice.
Today, I stand with the wisdom
of those who have lived through this before
Elders who whispered through dictatorship,
Organizers who passed banned leaflets hand to hand,
Mothers who hid sons,
Clergy who did rituals in hiding,
Workers who went on strike when it was dangerous,
Artists who kept beauty alive underground.
Let me listen to what they learned:
That truth must be protected,
That humor can be rebellion,
That no regime is permanent,
That survival is resistance
but solidarity is how we win.
Give me the courage
to see what is happening
not just what I want to see.
Let my voice be stronger than my shame.
Let my compassion be fiercer than my fear.
Let my hope be rooted, not naïve.
Today, may I choose clarity over denial,
action over paralysis,
solidarity over safety.
I pray for the strength to resist:
The erasure of the vulnerable,
The rewriting of truth,
The machinery of cruelty dressed in law.
I pray for the tenderness to love boldly
even when the world teaches me to harden.
May I carry forward the memory of those
who did not survive but whose courage echoes still.
May I remember that history is watching.
And so are those not yet born.
Let me be someone they will not be ashamed of.
Amen.
Friends, there is much that is broken and lost. But there is more that is whole and powerful.
We have each other.
We have our shared future and our deep love.
We have our chalice to light our way, our hands to hold onto each other, our arms to open to help those of us who must flee, our bodies to protect each other from violence, our imaginations to envision something new.
We urge you to reduce or eliminate your exposure to media of all kinds, gather your loved ones, make sure you practice the basics of self-care (eat, sleep, breathe, breathe, breathe) and heed the words of Emilia González Avalos: truth must be protected, humor can be rebellion, no regime is permanent, survival is resistance, and solidarity is how we win.
Trans siblings, if you need support, here is a list of resources. Also, we love you.
For encrypted, secure email and browsing to safeguard your online presence, here are some options (We are not cybersecurity experts, but we have done some research and found these platforms consistently recommended by those who are) :
To monitor and report ICE activity in your area, download ICEBlock. To get more support or get involved in protecting immigrants, find a Unidos affiliate near you here.
For a safe place to land in the coming week, join us at our Community Gathering on September 18th.
In solidarity and community–
Ann, Antoinette, Candace, Dana, and Jennifer
Force Multiplying